Walt Disney's The Sacred Stones
by ShinyTogeticFTW
Summary: Disney characters take on the roles of mercenaries and royalty alike in this re-imagining of The Sacred Stones. Who are your allies? Who are your enemies? Is anyone what they appear to be? Could a traveling soldier in another country's garb be more trustworthy than your most loyal and longstanding vassal? And what of your childhood friends? No knowledge of Fire Emblem necessary.


_In an age long past… evil flooded over the land._

_Creatures awash in the dark tide ran wild, pushing mankind to the brink of annihilation._

_In its despair, mankind appealed to the heavens, and from a blinding light came hope._

_**The Sacred Stones**_

_These five glorious treasures held the power to dispel evil._

_The hero Noedahm and his warriors used the Sacred Stones to combat evil's darkness._

_They defeated the mighty Chernabog and sealed his soul away within the stones._

_With the darkness imprisoned, peace returned to Retlaw_

_But this peace would not last…_

* * *

The continent of Retlaw.

For some 800 years, a quiet peace reigned in the absence of the terrible darkness.

The Sacred Stones have been passed from generation to generation.

Nations have been built around their power and their legacy.

The central kingdom of Renixipydas, ruled by Robert, the peerless Warrior King.

The kingdom of Ingallwood to the northwest, ruled by Merlin, the venerable Sage King.

The eastern kingdom of Agrabah, ruled by Jasmine, Queen of the White Dunes.

The theocracy of Olympus in the northeast corner, ruled by Zeus, the Divine Emperor.

The sweeping Noedahm Empire to the south, ruled by Frollo, the stalwart Silent Emperor.

These five countries house the power of the Sacred Stones.

They are joined by the emerging mercantile republic of Waisno in the north central region.

In these times of peace, tales of the past conflict have drifted into legend, and memories of the ancient dark arts have all but evaporated.

It is now the year 803…

In an instant, the whole of Retlaw is threatened by an unexpected atrocity.

The Noedahm Empire, the largest of the Sacred Stone nations, has invaded the kingdom of Renixipydas under orders from Emperor Frollo.

A longtime ally of Noedahm, Renixipydas is caught off guard, unable to mount any resistance.

Noedahm's forces move quickly, seizing one territory after another.

Compounding King Robert's worries, his teenage son, Prince Dashiell, has gone missing.

Noedahm's momentum carries its armies to the gates of Renixipydas Castle itself.

Renixipydas will fall… It is inevitable.

* * *

Prologue: The Fall of Renixipydas

A lone soldier hurries through the halls of Renixipydas Castle, between the couple of knights still standing inside, panting with exhaustion and fear. He passes two generals flanking the top of the stairs into the throne room and then bows to the great and imposing King Robert before making his dire report. "Your Majesty, I bear bad news. The castle gate has been breached. Emperor Frollo's forces are within the castle walls."

"I understand." King Robert nods briefly, his wide brow smooth and unfurrowed beneath his thinning blond hair. Standing a short distance to his left is his teenage daughter, the shy and unassuming Princess Violet. Beside her, the faithful paladin, Phoebus, his face thickly framed by straight, straw-colored hair in a complement to his neatly trimmed beard, sits astride his dapple gray, Achilles. Thomas, a young redheaded cavalier, is positioned more toward the opposite side of the room on his own horse, a blue roan named Berlioz.

"The garrison has fallen," the soldier continues. "We've lost contact with Prince Dashiell and can expect no aid from his men. Your Majesty, what are we to do?"

King Robert pauses for a moment before answering. "…What else can we do? Order your men to lay down their arms."

As the soldier hastens to follow his orders, Princess Violet approaches the king. "Dad…"

"Violet," he addresses her, his voice betraying concern for the first time. "Are you wearing the bracelet I gave you?"

"Yes, I have it right here," she replies, raising her left hand to show him; it fits loosely and therefore slips down a little bit, but the thick gold band inset with a light blue stone is unmistakably the Lunar Brace.

"Good," Robert acknowledges before turning his eyes away from her. "Phoebus."

"Yes, Your Majesty?" Phoebus responds immediately.

"Take Violet and head for Ingallwood. King Merlin is an honorable man. I trust he will keep you safe."

"Understood," Phoebus accepts. "And what of Your Majesty?"

"Me? I will remain here," Robert states matter-of-factly. "We have been the closest of allies until now, so why would Noedahm suddenly attack us? I have to know the reason. Am I somehow responsible for this? Have I erred in my leadership? Renixipydas is mine to guide… How could I have failed her so?"

"What?" Violet gasps. "Dad, you can't stay!" Steeling herself, she insists, "If you remain behind, then so will I!"

"Go now, Phoebus! Ride!" King Robert commands. "Take her to safety!"

Phoebus immediately comes forward, taking hold of the princess he is sworn to protect and preparing to carry her away – kicking and screaming if necessary.

"Dad!" Violet shouts desperately, fighting the paladin's firm but gentle grip.

"Forgive me, Your Highness." Phoebus lifts Princess Violet onto his horse, seating her in front of him and taking the reins tightly so that he can contain her struggling as he directs Achilles swiftly out of the castle, Thomas following close behind.

_It seems I sent them away just in time,_ Robert thinks to himself as Noedahm's forces swarm the castle, his last two generals having closed ranks in front of him in the face of six mounted soldiers before Emperor Frollo himself walks in, bold as brass. His heir, Quasimodo, trails along in his wake, looking distinctly unwell; his bulky build belies his frail nature as always, yet it is unable to hide his increased paleness of late. Sensing his own end is near, the king hangs his head heavily and whispers, "Dashiell, Violet… You must survive."

* * *

Mere moments after they make it outside, Princess Violet manages to force her way out from between Phoebus's arms. Though she quickly slides off of Achilles' back, she remains standing next to him; while she wants very much to run back inside, she knows that she won't even reach the castle gates before Phoebus catches her again.

"General Phoebus!" Thomas calls out as he joins the paladin and the princess.

"Thomas, ride ahead and bring word of our coming to Ingallwood," Phoebus promptly tells him. "A single rider has better odds of passing unseen by Noedahm's men. Convey to the throne all that has happened here and petition for reinforcements."

"U-understood!" Thomas stammers, steering his horse westward and applying his heels to Berlioz's sides, urging him forward with a snap of his reins and immediately taking off at a canter.

As Thomas rides out of sight, Phoebus turns his attention once again to the princess. "Princess Violet, we must–" Phoebus cuts himself off when he sees three large shapes in the sky to the east growing steadily larger. "Quickly! Behind me!" The paladin unceremoniously pulls her back away from the approaching threat and turns Achilles so that he is all but completely shielding her from view.

Three enemy soldiers, all flying on the backs of wyverns, land in front of the castle, the lances they wield held high. The closest of them draws nearer, his head tilted slightly to one side as though craning his neck to see past Phoebus despite the fact that his dragonish mount is taller than the paladin's horse and he should therefore have no trouble spotting Violet behind him. "You there, with the girl," the man says in an oily voice. "Tell me, would that be the wayward princess of Renixipydas? The girl who, rumor has it, is so elusive one would almost think her able to become invisible?" Phoebus reflexively reaches for his favored weapon, preparing for combat. The man seems to take this reaction as a confirmation of his suspicions. "Well, this must be my lucky day. You're a dead man. The wench goes with me."

"Never!" Phoebus proclaims, drawing a steel sword from its scabbard and pulling back on the reins with his other hand, directing Achilles to rear up in order to add force to his imminent forward thrust as his opponent's wyvern takes another step closer.

The man parries Phoebus's attack with a flourish of his silver lance and declares haughtily, "I am Horvath, the Moonstone, Noedahm's finest general!" He then guides his winged mount into the air as he sneers, "And you are just a corpse who doesn't know he's dead." Diving forward and down, Horvath lands a blow directly to the paladin's right side.

"Ahhh…" Phoebus gasps in pain and then defiantly cries, "No!" He turns to flee, first stopping to drag Violet up alongside him before taking off at a trot.

"Such terrible wounds, and still he holds to his duty?" Horvath muses, watching their retreat indifferently. "Steady, Maxim," he soothes his restless wyvern, stroking the protrusion on the back of the creature's head to settle him before smiling darkly after his escaped prey. "How entertaining. Fly away, little man. Fly away. Try to outrun death. More time to savor the hunt… and the kill."

* * *

As they follow a trail between two mountains through a sparsely wooded area, it soon becomes too difficult for Phoebus to continue carrying Violet as he is; she is clinging tightly to him, her arms reaching up around his body, hands clasped on his right shoulder, and one foot resting atop his own between the stirrup and his left calf. He reluctantly halts Achilles and indicates for the princess to dismount. Once she is standing on solid ground again, Violet takes a few steps back the way they came and looks around, more nervous than shaken.

"Princess Violet! This way!" Phoebus's words are punctuated by his labored breathing as he guides Achilles to turn around, anticipating the need to cut the princess off should she try to run. He takes a few shallow breaths to regain his composure before continuing, "I can see no more of Noedahm's men. If we've made it this far, we've surely earned a moment's rest."

Violet nods but doesn't say anything before she sinks to sit under a nearby tree, fiddling with the long locks of black hair obscuring half of her face.

Phoebus watches her anxiously for a minute before offering an uneasy apology. "Please forgive my grabbing you so… brusquely earlier."

Looking up at him in surprise, Violet shakes her head. "Don't be stupid, Phoebus." She turns away then, gazing back in the direction of her home, and sighs forlornly. "If it weren't for you, I would never have made it out of the castle." Bowing her head so that her hair hides her face completely, she finds herself unable to tear her thoughts away from the day's horrors. _How could it have come to this?_ she laments before standing, huffing at her overhanging hair and then brushing it back behind her ear. "You're the reason I'm still alive. You have my thanks."

After a moment's hesitation she steps closer to Phoebus, reaching out a hand as though toward him at first but then seeming to change her mind at the last second and moving to run her fingers through Achilles' mane instead. "And whoever that man was, he was clearly after me… It's my fault that you received such a grave wound." As she says this, Phoebus realizes that she has been staring intently at his side. Looking down himself, he can clearly see the blood from where he had been pierced by that accursed man's lance. Violet's hand slowly drifts away from the horse's neck and toward Phoebus's side as she quietly says, "Allow me to treat it, I–"

Phoebus pulls on Achilles' reins, backing out of her reach and interrupting her, "Your Highness, I can't allow an injury like this to be an obstacle. We have more important matters to attend to. We must press on to Ingallwood. We must fulfill His Majesty's wishes."

_You meant to say, 'His Majesty's _last_ wishes,' didn't you, Phoebus?_ Violet thinks to herself before speaking shrewdly. "…I wonder how Dad's doing back at the castle. Do you think he's safe? And what about Dash, out there on the Noedahm front? We've heard nothing from him for days."

"King Robert and Prince Dashiell are both valiant and brave men. I doubt even the might of the Noedahm Empire can hold them in check," Phoebus reassures her, but it does nothing to lift the gloom from her heart.

_You can deny it all you want, Phoebus,_ Violet thinks, _but I see the truth in your eyes: there is no doubt in your mind that my father is dead._

Phoebus clears his throat, realizing that his words did not assuage her fears as he had hoped. "More important to me, Your Highness, is that you look to your own safety. How sad the two of them would be if something were to happen to you," he observes solemnly. "We must reach Ingallwood to ensure the day of your happy reunion."

"Yes, of course. You're right," Violet sighs. "Until we are reunited, I must not despair. Come on, Phoebus. Let's go."

Phoebus rides ahead a short distance to check that he is not leading the way into some sort of ambush, pausing as he comes within view of the river which separates Renixipydas from its neighbor. Turning back to beckon the princess forward, he informs her, "Once we cross that bridge, we will be in Ingallwood, near Bermuda. Let us proceed, Princess Violet."

Even though Renixipydas Castle is too far away to be seen from where she is, Violet still looks behind her one more time before reluctantly moving to catch up with Phoebus. Once she is at his side, he admits, "Your Highness, I won't lie to you. This will not be an easy ride. Please, take this rapier." Here he gives her a long, thin sword. Taking it in hand, Violet finds it to be lightweight and easy for her to wield. "If something should happen to me, you must continue to Ingallwood, alone if need be."

No sooner has he said this than three soldiers, armed with axes, burst out of the trees they had passed through not long ago. "You there! Renixipydas dogs!" one of them calls out. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Noedahm's men…" Phoebus murmurs, gathering his courage as he prepares to defend Violet against this new danger. "Stand back, Princess Violet," he tells her.

"It's all right, Phoebus," she suggests. "My brother has taught me something of swordplay. I will stand with you." She steps back with one foot into a fighting stance just as the nearest soldier reaches her. He brings his axe down powerfully, but she reacts like lightning, sidestepping his swing before lunging in with her own strike. He grunts as her blade slices his arm, but he has barely recoiled before she attacks again, her upward thrust leaving a gash on his cheek.

"Princess Violet!" Phoebus shouts worriedly.

"I'm fine," she breathes easily, her eyes locked on her opponent. "His axe was slow, and I was quick. Don't forget, I trained with Dash!" She swings her rapier in a slashing motion across the man's torso, leaving behind a wide laceration on his chest. "My brother is easily twice as fast as you," she tells him as he brings one hand up to cover the wound, attempting to hold it closed even as he steps forward and tries to attack again. Violet merely takes one step back to avoid his axe and the man falls atop his weapon, finished, as Violet adds, "…and that's on a bad day."

"I'll hold the rest of them here. Please, Princess – to Ingallwood!" Before she can protest again, Phoebus urges Achilles past her and drives his steel sword straight into the heart of the second enemy. The Noedahm soldier is dead before his body hits the ground. "All that's left is their leader…" he mutters as his eyes scan the trees, making sure he hasn't missed anything.

"What was that?" the last of them shouts as he overhears. "Do you think you can take me, wretched lordling? Come! It's time you high-and-mighty knights learned to respect a true warrior!" His face a scowl of disgust, the self-proclaimed 'true warrior' stomps through the branches between the paladin and himself and grits out, "You will be the first to die!"

Phoebus guides his horse in a well-practiced maneuver to get out of harm's way as the man hefts his axe over his head, but the man had anticipated Phoebus's dodge and waited for him to make his move before executing his attack; as a result, the head of his axe penetrates Phoebus's boot and bites into his ankle. "Urgh…" the paladin grunts, jerking on the reins he is holding in one hand.

Achilles snorts in response and tosses his head in irritation as Violet cries out fearfully, "Phoebus!" She bites her lip, dithering. "His wounds must be worse than he let on…" she realizes. _You stupid, gallant idiot! What are you trying to prove?_

"Time to die!" the Noedahm soldier growls, preparing to attack a second time.

"Stop!" Violet demands as she rushes in, her rapier cocked and ready. "Face me, if you have the steel!" The man raises his axe once more, but she strikes first and her narrow blade makes a clean cut through the flesh of his thigh. The man roars in frustration and brings his weapon down squarely on her left shoulder. She screams in agony, feeling like her shoulder is on fire as she staggers and the man lets out a sinister laugh. Violet takes a step back away from him, but just as he lets his guard down she gathers all of her willpower to propel herself forward and buries her rapier deep in his gut.

Shocked, the man struggles to speak. "What? How?" He doubles over as Violet withdraws her weapon, her eyes wide as she watches the dying man draw his last breath and then become still.

"Princess, are you injured?" Phoebus checks, placing his hand reassuringly on her back.

"What?" Violet jumps slightly at his touch. "Oh, no… I'm fine, Phoebus."

"But you look so pale…" Phoebus insists.

"I'm fine…" she repeats. "Fine." She turns away, facing Ingallwood in order to find something to look at other than the corpse at her feet – the soldier she killed. The view in that direction is no better, however, as there are two more men lying dead on the path ahead. "…This is war, isn't it? It's not at all like the games I used to play with my brother or Quasimodo. I never thought– I didn't know it would be this… savage. Are words useless? Is strength all that matters? It's so sad… Why would the Noedahm Empire do this? To what end would they start a war?"

"Princess…" Phoebus begins, though he is unsure what to say.

"…Don't worry, Phoebus. I won't give in to sorrow. Let's get moving. I'm not broken, and I won't stop until my brother and I are reunited and we see Renixipydas restored."


End file.
